1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the production of brine solutions primarily used to improve winter road conditions and, more particularly to a two-tank brine maker specially designed for ease in cleaning sludge out of the brine maker that is the result of the process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known that applying salt to icy roads will greatly reduce the amount of ice on the roads and the amount of ice that will form. In the fairly recent past, devices have been designed to produce a salt solution or brine to be sprayed on road surfaces for the prevention and reduction of ice formation.
In general, brine makers either function by adding water on top of a salt bed and letting it flow downward to drain through an outlet at the bottom or by adding water from below the salt bed and forcing it to flow upward and through an overflow near the top. In either process, the salt dissolves but the impurities in the salt remain at the bottom of the container where the salt is dissolved and form a sludge. The sludge will continue to increase and must be cleaned out from the brine maker periodically.
Different approaches have been developed in order to address the need to remove the build up of sludge. The simplest of these requires an opening in the bottom of the tank which is closed during brine making. To clean the tank, the opening is uncovered and men get in the tank with brooms and a water hose. They proceed to use the water to wet the sludge and then sweep it through the opening. This is a labor and time-intensive technique.
Another approach to cleaning a brine maker is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,026 which shows a conically shaped bottom portion of a salt hopper with an outlet. The outlet is connected to a pump. The brine processing is shut down and water is pumped into the bottom of the salt hopper and the sludge is flushed out and then sent to a separator and the liquid is returned. However, this arrangement requires a relatively complex arrangement and additional space. Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,274 which includes a salt bed supported above a conically shaped bottom. To remove sludge, the influx of water is stopped and a valve near the bottom of the conical shape is opened to let sludge flow out. Yet another approach describes a clearing method wherein the inside of the tank is provided with spray nozzles connected to the water supply. The brine making process is stopped and the nozzles are turned on so that the sides of the tank are washed and the sludge becomes a slurry which is then pumped out of the tank. (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,406). All of these methods contemplate a salt hopper in a stationary and fixed position and consequently require a reservoir in which to dump the slurry to be located adjacent to the hopper.
One object of the present invention is to eliminate or at least greatly reduce the number of man-hours required to make brine;
A second object of the present invention is to provide a compact and simple device for making brine;
A third object of the present invention is to provide a brine maker from which the sludge can easily and quickly be removed;
A final object of the present invention is to provide a brine maker which does not necessarily have to be positioned adjacent to a reservoir in which to dump the slurry.
To accomplish the foregoing objectives the present invention comprises a brine maker of a two-tank arrangement including a salt hopper where brine is made and a brine storage tank. In one embodiment the tanks sit on a frame side by side so that an upper portion of the salt hopper is higher than an upper portion of the brine storage tank. As in other brine making devices, a water inlet is provided in a bottom portion of the salt hopper and a valve means is attached to a water supply so that water can be directed into the salt hopper and through a manifold which distributes the water along the bottom of the salt hopper. In the present invention the water supply is connected to the salt hopper through a quick-fit coupler and a water supply shut off. The quick-fit coupler is easily and quickly decoupled. Near the upper portion of the salt hopper is an opening through which brine will overflow into and through a filtering means attached to the upper portion of the salt hopper. The filter is positioned such that brine flowing through it pours into the brine storage tank.
The salt hopper of the present invention has a bottom and external and internal surfaces of a front wall and a back wall. In one embodiment, the bottom is planar and the front wall is angled at more than 90 degrees from the bottom""s plane. This angle allows for ease in removing sludge. The hopper is further provided with bracketing means attached to the external surface of the front wall. When the salt hopper needs to be cleaned, the water supply is turned off, the water inlet is closed and the water supply is removed from the salt hopper by decoupling the quick-fit coupler. A forklift or other such device is attached to the bracketing means on the hopper front wall and the hopper is then lifted off the frame, taken to a dumping area, and turned over to remove sludge. The salt hopper is then returned and set onto the frame and the water supply re-coupled.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated from the following description. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which are provided for illustration of the preferred embodiment. However, such embodiment does not represent the full scope of the invention. The subject matter which the inventor does regard as his invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of this specification.